How to Recall Your Dreams

My Dream Recall Experience

Do you ever get the feeling that you had a crazy dream, but you can’t remember what it was? I can’t tell you how many times I had previously awoken with the vivid memory of some strange or exciting adventure I had during my sleep. Except, when I went to tell the story to a friend later on, I realized I had forgotten what took place, as it quickly faded away once I’d moved from my bed. Unfortunately, this meant that I had a poor ability to dream recall.

Looking back, there were times in my life when I was able to remember my dreams more easily than other times, but why? What influences this ability? Why is it important?

Why Do We Dream?

To understand why we should care about recalling our dreams, let us first talk about why we dream in the first place.

During our waking hours, we take in loads of data from external stimuli through our senses. However, not every piece of information obtained is understood, well-processed, or needed. Therefore, dreaming serves essential emotional, physiological, and cognitive purposes.

1. During dreams, individuals may process and integrate emotions from daily life, which can aid in resolving conflicts and alleviating anxiety and stress.
   • A study published in the journal Sleep indicated that REM sleep, characterized by vivid dreaming, plays a crucial role in emotional processing and memory consolidation.
   • Therefore, dreams allow the brain to work through unresolved emotions and traumatic experiences.
2. The activation-synthesis theory proposes that dreams result from the brain’s subconscious attempts to interpret neural activity during REM sleep, leading to nonsensical but profound narratives that reflect fears, anxiety, and intuitive feelings.
   • These are the strange dreams we have that are often dismissed, but should be examined symbolically as the brain is attempting to assimilate data.
3. Dreaming helps the brain to reinforce synaptic connections, which are essential for learning and memory.
   • By simulating experiences and emotions through dreams, the brain may effectively “rehearse” scenarios and consolidate new information or skills.
   • This is especially important to the brain health of children.
4. Dreams may facilitate creative problem-solving by allowing the brain to explore new ideas and scenarios that the logical, conscious mind relies on during waking hours.
   • Many artists, writers, and scientists have reported breakthroughs stemming from their dreams.

Does Everyone Dream Every Night?

Simply put, the answer is yes! Not only do neuroscientists suggest that all healthy people dream each night, but they dream several times a night! Therefore, those who believe that they don’t dream are actually dreaming, but they are forgetting their dreams upon waking up.

Dreams occur during the REM (rapid-eye movement) stage of sleep. This phase is the deepest level of sleep we go into. That’s precisely why it takes many hours to get to this stage, while it’s much less likely we’ll wake up during this time.

During REM, our bodies remain temporarily paralyzed to keep us safe from acting out our dreams. However, this is also the point when our brain lights up and becomes highly active. Our eyes dart back and forth behind our eyelids as we perceive the effect of the dream.

Why You Forget Your Dreams